The Suffolk City Council will have at least one new member when it convenes in January and could have up to four new members.

Four seats on the eight-member governing body are up for grabs. In one borough, the incumbent is retiring. In the three others, the incumbent is facing one challenger.

Chuckatuck Borough

In the Chuckatuck Borough, farmer Joe Barlow is retiring from government and leaving the seat open for one of two longtime city residents — Mike Duman and Caroline Martin.

Duman, a car dealership owner and member of the Economic Development Authority, wants to see government become more accommodating to the citizens and more cooperative with local agencies. He hopes to reward businesses that choose to continue conducting business in the city.

Martin, a retired hospital administrator, serves with the Western Tidewater Free Clinic, Suffolk Partnership for a Healthy Community and the Hampton Roads Partnership subcommittee on health. She and her husband own a lumber business located in North Carolina. Martin says her background uniquely qualifies her to plan growth and seek opportunities to attract more health care industry companies.

Cypress Borough

In the Cypress Borough, incumbent Charles Brown is facing a challenge from William Newsome.

Brown is seeking re-election to his fifth term on the city’s governing body. He’s an instructor at Northrop Grumman’s Apprentice School in Newport News and is a former planning commissioner and Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority board member. He says he’s running to be a “servant of the people,” and that his borough’s neighborhoods have become safer and had more amenities since he was elected.

Newsome, however, says no progress has been made in the borough during Brown’s tenure. A retired teacher, Newsome has promised to meet with the leadership of the borough’s civic leagues quarterly to discuss the issues. He also hopes to raise salaries for teachers, firefighters and police so Suffolk is able to retain the best staff.

Holy Neck Borough

In the Holy Neck Borough, incumbent Jeffrey Gardy is defending his seat against challenger Jennings “J.B.” Varney. Holy Neck voters have never returned a City Council incumbent for a second term.

Gardy has practiced law in Suffolk since 1966, where he handled zoning issues for various entities before his first election in 2006. He says the city is in a better place than it was when he was first elected, noting several buildings that have been completed. If the voters give him another four years, he wants to see a new elementary school built on the Holland Road corridor.

Varney is a retired teacher who graduated from Old Dominion University. He served in the U.S. Army Security Agency, where he was a military advisor in Vietnam. In the 1980s, he served on the Board of Supervisors in Botetourt County, where he was on construction committees for a courthouse and library. Varney would like to see a new school build in Holland and renovations done to the Whaleyville elementary school.

Suffolk Borough

In the Suffolk Borough, Alvin Copeland is challenging Charles Parr.

Copeland, a 31-year naval inspector and former planning commissioner, says his former employment qualifies him to detect waste and plan smart growth. He plans to arrange a panel of leaders from each neighborhood in his borough to help determine community opinions.

Parr is the owner of Parr Funeral Home and was first elected to council in 2006. He says the city has improved its credit rating, fiscal responsibility and citizens rendered to services in his first term.